# Is "Vanity of Duluoz: An Adventurous Education, 1935-46" by Jack Kerouac a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Vanity of Duluoz: An Adventurous Education, 1935-46 by Jack Kerouac (Coward-McCann, 1968) is identified by: First edition, first printing published by Coward-McCann, New York, 1968. The true first is the 1968 Coward-McCann hardcover.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first printing published by Coward-McCann, New York, 1968
- Cloth in dust jacket, no statement of later printing
- The unclipped jacket carries the original printed price on the front flap
- Publisher imprint reads Coward-McCann
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Jack Kerouac |
| Publisher | Coward-McCann |
| Year | 1968 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first printing published by Coward-McCann, New York, 1968 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition, first printing published by Coward-McCann, New York, 1968. Cloth in dust jacket, no statement of later printing. The unclipped jacket carries the original printed price on the front flap.

## Is this the true first?
The true first is the 1968 Coward-McCann hardcover.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No major book club edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Vanity of Duluoz: An Adventurous Education, 1935-46* by Jack Kerouac a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/vanity-of-duluoz-an-adventurous-education-1935-46
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.